Cherry Lou Herald passed away in her home on July 10, 2024, at the age of 83 years old. Cherry was born on December 23, 1940, in Beeville, TX, to parents Edwin Sherley Bell, Sr., and Margaret Lucile (Caron) Bell. In 1945, her family moved to Tempe, AZ, where she attended Tempe High School, graduating in 1958. Cherry attended Arizona State University, earning a B.S. in Chemistry in 1962 and an M.S. in Chemistry in 1965. She continued on in the doctoral program at Arizona State University and married fellow graduate student Delbert (Del) Leon Herald, Jr., in July 1964. She graduated with her PhD in Organic Chemistry four years later, being one of the first women in university history to achieve that degree. Cherry was a pioneer and role model for fellow women in science.
Following graduate school, Cherry moved with her husband Del to Georgia and Oklahoma before permanently returning to Tempe in 1973. She worked at the Arizona State University Cancer Research Institute (CRI) with Professor G. Robert Pettit for over 30 years, beginning as a Research Chemist and retiring as the Assistant Director in 2006. At CRI, Cherry worked alongside her husband Del on natural product isolation and testing for anti-cancer activity.
In retirement, she could often be found volunteering at the Desert Botanical Garden; doing Tai Chi with groups at the garden, the park, and the YMCA; and meeting regularly with friends for book club meetings or lunch. Cherry loved the Sonoran desert and passionately maintained her volunteer role at the Desert Botanical Garden for over a decade, where she especially enjoyed assisting with their seasonal butterfly garden. In her free time, she found other ways to enjoy the outdoors with occasional day hikes and picnics on her family desert property. Cherry was also known to travel, visiting Germany and England to support her daughter, a military spouse stationed abroad for multiple years. Later in life, she continued making frequent visits to her daughter in Colorado, as well as to her son in Virginia. She recently joined him and her grandson on a trip to Montréal, Canada, this past May.
Cherry was notoriously considerate and thoughtful, and was treasured by those who knew her best. She was a selfless and devoted daughter to her mother with post-polio syndrome, and supported her considerably in her elder years with daily phone calls and visits. She was a generous and dedicated wife who helped her husband navigate a years-long battle with Crohn's disease, and later, kidney disease and other challenges. She was an attentive and loving mother to her two children, guiding them through life’s hurdles and encouraging them to pursue their passions, as well as education through advanced degrees and careers. Cherry had enormous love for her grandchildren, whom she could never talk about enough, and missed tremendously when they were gone. In recent years, she was proud to see all of her grandchildren graduate high school and move on to college and post-graduate studies. One of her granddaughters now attends Arizona State University in her footsteps.
Cherry is preceded in death by parents Edwin and Margaret Bell and husband Delbert Leon Herald, Jr. She is survived by her brothers Edwin Bell, Jr., and wife LoAnn; Ralph Bell, Sr., and wife Ogi; her son Bert and wife Meagan; her daughter Heather Bunnell and husband John; her three grandchildren, Nathaniel, Audrey and Laura Bunnell; and her niece Joy Bell and nephew Ralph H. Bell, Jr.
A memorial service will be held at Resthaven/Carr-Tenney Mortuary & Memorial Gardens on August 12, 2024 from 10-noon.
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Desert Botanical Garden. Please state the gift is in memory of Cherry Lou Herald. You may mail a check to the address below or donate online.
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Desert Botanical Garden
1201 N. Galvin Parkway
Phoenix, AZ 85008
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